Mickaël Antoine-Curier

Mickaël Antoine-Curier (born 5 March 1983) is a professional footballer who plays for Belgian club SC Eendracht Aalst on loan from Union SG and the Guadeloupe national team as a striker.

At club level, he has previously played in seven different countries: in France as a youngster for Paris Saint-Germain and Nice; in England for Preston North End and Nottingham Forest at youth level and for Brentford, Oldham Athletic, Kidderminster Harriers, Rochdale, Sheffield Wednesday, Notts County, Grimsby Town and Burton Albion at senior level; in Norway for Vard Haugesund and FK Haugesund; in Scotland for Hibernian, Dundee, Hamilton Academical and Dunfermline Athletic; in Cyprus for Ethnikos Achnas; in Malaysia for Felda United F.C.; and in Kazakhstan for FC Atyrau.

At international level, he has played for Guadeloupe in the Caribbean Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Club career

England

Antoine-Curier began his career as a youth in France with Paris Saint-Germain and Nice.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link Template:Dead link</ref> Eager to play in the United Kingdom, he signed for Preston North End and then Nottingham Forest as a youth. He initially played academy football, finish top scorer for the Forest academy team with 22 goals in 19 games. He won the trophy for the academy player of the year and was selected as man of the match of the Charity Vase final by Brian Clough, but he never made it for the first team. During the 2002–03 season, the Forest manager Paul Hart loaned him out to Brentford, where he made 11 starts, scoring three goals. This included a brace in an important 2–0 victory at Chesterfield.

He came to prominence at the start of the 2003–04 season in the third tier of English football, having signed for Oldham Athletic. He grabbed his first cup goal in a 2–1 defeat at Scunthorpe United, then scored his first league goal for the "Latics" four days later in a 2–2 draw at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough Stadium. He grabbed another goal in a 3–2 home defeat to Blackpool the following week. He made a total of six starts and three substitute appearances for the Boundary Park club, scoring three goals, before being released.

Antoine-Curier then joined Kidderminster Harriers, before joining Rochdale on a non-contract basis. He made five starts and five substitute appearances for Rochdale, scoring on his debut in a 1–1 draw at Lincoln City. He then left Rochdale to join Sheffield Wednesday, a club he had scored against earlier on in the season. He made just one substitute appearance for Wednesday, in a 0–0 draw against Luton Town at Hillsborough.

He then joined Notts County, where he made four starts, scoring in a 3–1 win over Grimsby Town, whom he signed for shortly afterwards. He also made five appearances for Grimsby, but could not score. Both Grimsby and Notts County were relegated at the end of the season.

Norway

After an unsettled time in the UK, Curier joined Norwegian First Division side Vard Haugesund in 2004. In his first season, he scored seven goals in 16 appearances, but the club was relegated. He scored 27 goals in 21 games in the 2005 season, winning the Norwegian golden boot and the Norwegian Second Division player of the year award. He then transferred to FK Haugesund, and scored eight goals in 24 appearances in the 2006 season and seven goals in 15 appearances in the 2007 season.Template:Citation needed His time at Norway was a positive one, where he was nicknamed as Batigol and David Trezeguet.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Scotland

Antoine-Curier was invited by manager John Collins to Scottish Premier League side Hibernian for a trial period in 2007.<ref name = "hibs signed"/> He starred in a friendly match against First Division side Livingston, scoring four goals in a 5–2 victory.<ref name = "hibs signed"/> FK Haugesund captain Kevin Nicol, a former Hibernian player, was full of praise for Antoine-Curier, expressing his belief that the French striker "would do really well" if he was signed by Hibs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Curier signed a one-year contract with Hibernian, who paid FK Haugesund a nominal transfer fee, on 31 August 2007.<ref name = "hibs signed">Template:Cite news</ref> Antoine-Curier scored against Motherwell in the Scottish League Cup and Kilmarnock in the SPL. Despite scoring four goals in nine appearances, Antoine-Curier fell out of favour after Hibs signed Colin Nish.

Curier was loaned by Hibs to Dundee in January 2008.<ref name = "dundee deal"/> Curier scored six goals in his first four Dundee appearances, including a hat-trick in a 6–1 win over Stirling Albion. On 7 May 2008, Curier signed a three-year deal with Dundee.<ref name = "dundee deal">Template:Cite news</ref>

Dundee loaned out Antoine-Curier at the end of the 2009 summer transfer window to SPL side Hamilton Academical. Antoine-Curier made his debut against Hibernian in the SPL and marked it with a goal after 12 minutes. On 15 October 2010, Antoine-Curier had his contract terminated by Dundee, a victim of the club entering administration.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 11 January 2011, following a battle with injury, Antoine-Curier re-signed for Hamilton until the end of the season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Cyrprus and further afield

In July 2011 he signed a two-year deal with Cypriot side Ermis Aradippou,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> however his contract was terminated due to financial difficulties at the club and he joined Ermis’ former president and a host of the club’s former players at Ethnikos Achnas in August, just days before the 2011–12 season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In April 2012, he joined Felda United FC with his fellow countryman Eddy Viator.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He made his league debut on 8 April 2012, scoring a goal in a 2–0 home win over Kedah FA.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In February 2013, Antoine-Curier joined Kazakhstan Premier League club FC Atyrau. However, his time in Kazakhstan was overshadowed where he was an outcast by his team-mates, spat on by opposing fans and refused accommodation because of the colour of his skin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, the manager at the time, Miodrag Radulović, denies Antoine-Curier, claiming "he never told me these things while in Atyrau FC."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Return to the UK

He re-signed for Hamilton in August 2013.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> In the Scottish League Cup, Antoine-Curier scored his first goal, in a 1–0 win over Kilmarnock.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After scoring nine goals in the league, Antoine-Curier scored four goals for the first time in his professional career, as Hamilton thrash 10–2 against Greenock Morton on the last game of the season. However, the win did not guarantee automatic promotion to Scottish Premiership after his former club, Dundee, won at the same day.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After the match, Antoine-Curier expressed disappointment not to become Champions, though the scoreline showed Hamilton's desire to reach the Scottish Premiership.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Antoine-Curier was released from his contract at Hamilton on 2 February 2015, by mutual consent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Antoine-Curier joined Burton Albion on 18 February 2015, until the end of the 2014–15 season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Antoine-Curier made his Burton Albion debut, where he came on as a substitute for Stuart Beavon in the 88th minutes, in a 3–1 win over Dagenham & Redbridge on 21 February 2015.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following Burton Albion's promotion to League One, Antoine-Curier was released after making five appearance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In August 2015, Antoine-Curer had a trial with Scottish League One team Dunfermline Athletic,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> subsequently signing for the Scottish League One side in September 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Chances with the Pars, however, were limited and after only four months with the club, Antoine-Curier was released.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Belgium

Following his release Dunfermline, Antoine-Curier subsequently signed for Belgian Second Division side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise on an 18-month contract.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His time with the club was hindered by a recurring knee-injury, and in January 2017 he was loaned out to Belgian Fourth Division side Eendracht Aalst.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

International career

Curier was selected by Guadeloupe for the Caribbean Cup 2008, scoring 6 goals in 8 games. He also participated in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup for Guadeloupe, in which they reached the quarter finals.

Career statistics

Template:Updated<ref>Template:Soccerbase</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Club statistics

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Preston North End	2000–01	Football League First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nottingham Forest	2001–02		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2002–03		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Brentford (loan)	2002–03	Football League Second Division	11	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	3
Oldham Athletic	2003–04		8	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	9	3
Kidderminster Harriers	2003–04	Football League Third Division	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Rochdale			8	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	10	1
Sheffield Wednesday	2003–04	Football League Second Division	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Notts County			4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1
Grimsby Town	2003–04		5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Vard Haugesund	2004	Norwegian First Division	9	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	5
	2005	2. Divisjon	28	28	0	0	0	0	0	0	28	28
	Total		37	33	0	0	0	0	0	0	37	33
FK Haugesund	2006	Norwegian First Division	24	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	24	8
	2007		15	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	7
	Total		39	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	39	15
Hibernian	2007–08	Scottish Premier League	13	3	1	0	1	1	0	0	15	4
Dundee	2007–08<ref name="on loan">on loan</ref>	Scottish First Division	11	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	8
	2008–09		32	14	1	0	1	0	0	0	34	14
	2009–10		0	0	0	0	1	2	1	1	2	3
	Total		43	22	1	0	2	2	1	1	47	25
Hamilton Academical	2009–10<ref name="on loan"/>	Scottish Premier League	26	7	2	1	0	0	0	0	28	8
	2010–11		13	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	14	5
	Total		39	11	3	2	0	0	0	0	42	13
Ermis Aradippou	2011–12	Cypriot First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ethnikos Achna			8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
Felda United	2012	Malaysia Super League	20	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	20	13
FC Atyrau	2013	Kazakhstan Premier League	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
Hamilton Academical	2013–14	Scottish Championship	29	12	1	0	2	1	4	0	36	13
	2014–15	Scottish Premiership	22	8	1	0	2	0	0	0	25	8
	Total		51	20	2	0	4	1	4	0	62	21
Burton Albion	2014–15	Football League Two	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Dunfermline Athletic	2015–16	Scottish League One	9	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	2
Career Total			315	126	7	2	9	5	6	1	337	134

External links

• Template:Soccerbase
• Template:NFT player
• International Statistics at CaribbeanFootballDatabase
• Norwegian & International Statistics of Football – Antoine-Curier factfile
• Mickaël Antoine-Curier at Soccerway